Third arrest made in theft of musical instruments from Carle Place school 

A third man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the theft of several musical instruments from Carle Place High School.

Ulysseus Gillian-Smith, 27, of Brentwood is charged with third-degree burglary and fourth-degree grand larceny. He was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead and released on his own recognizance.

Two other men, Gem Hattat, 27, of Lindenhurst and Jarrett Boyarsky, 27, of Westbury, face multiple counts of burglary and attempted burglary in connection to a series of break-ins at the school.

Gillian-Smith is charged with the June 10 burglary at the high school in which two guitars were stolen.

Surveillance footage shows Boyarsky, who entered the school courtyard through the roof, letting Gillian-Smith into the building, according to charging documents. The two men are seen entering a music room where they take a Stratocaster guitar valued at nearly $1,900 owned by the Carle Place orchestra teacher and a bass guitar valued at $1,000, records state.

Gillian-Smith told a Nassau police detective on June 24 that "I don't know if I still have the instruments," according to the charging documents. "I don't know why Jarrett told you that. He has all the instruments we took."

Michael Matera, Gillian-Smith's Melville based attorney, said he plans to review the surveillance video.

"I do not believe that those videos contain my client and we look forward to defending the case in court," he said.

Hattat and Boyarsky were arrested June 21 after police responded to an early morning alarm at Rushmore Avenue School in Carle Place. While searching the school, officers received a call for a second alarm at the high school and responded to the scene. The suspects were arrested after jumping from the school's roof.

Evidence gathered through search warrants also linked Hattat and Boyarsky to a June 4 burglary at the high school in which $5,000 in instruments and equipment were taken, authorities said. The suspects also damaged a $3,000 smartboard and $1,000 laptop, detectives said.

Hattat is also charged in connection with a June 18 attempted burglary at Island Power Sports in Massapequa.

Police returned 10 instruments to the school Tuesday: a saxophone, a clarinet, two keyboards, two acoustic guitars, and four electric guitars. Some instruments belong to the school while others are owned by students.

Gillian-Smith is due back in court on July 12.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.